As the importance of good health and physical exercise has received increased attention, many people have begun jogging to exercise their bodies. Jogging may be undertaken in any of a variety of locations, such as along streets and sidewalks, specially constructed tracks, or on miniature trampolines.
Jogging on streets and sidewalks and similar hard surfaces has resulted in considerable damage to the skeleton system in a substantial percentage of joggers, in addition to kidney damage in others. This damage occurs due to the considerable shock to which the body is subjected each time the jogger takes an additional stride and his foot impacts the hard surface.
Some of this damaging shock can be eliminated by jogging on somewhat softer surface tracks made of bark chips or rubber-like compounds. Nevertheless, these surfaces have a limited amount of "give" and the jogger who uses these still subjects his body to considerable shock each time he takes a stride.
Most recently, the minature trampoline has become a popular jogging surface, as it allows the exerciser to receive all the benefits of jogging, while eliminating the shock associated with jogging on a relatively hard surface. These trampolines "give" considerably each time the user's foot lands on it to eliminate the shock of the foot hitting a hard surface with each stride.
The chief disadvantage to the trampolines manufactured today is their size. The miniature trampoline joggers on the market today are typically either square or round, and are approximately 30 to 40 inches in diameter and approximately 9 inches tall. The resilient bed is connected to a square or round steel frame by springs approximately 3 inches long and spaced approximately 3 inches apart. This limited size requires the user to exercise in one place. These trampolines may also only be used by one person at a time, so they are only appropriate for home use, and not for use in commercial exercise salons. Additionally, these devices cannot be used for other exercises, such as sit-ups and jumping jacks. Many, persons are unable to do sit-ups or other horizontal position exercises on a hard surface because of their bone structures. These persons are unable to use these trampolines to realize the benefits of these exercises.